SCIGRIP Solar Boat Achieves Top Speeds During Sea Trials

According to SCIGRIP, the newly modified, lightweight powerboat took to the water at Gdynia Marina in Poland in relatively calm conditions with a light offshore wind. The team is delighted with the boat’s performance and they achieved a top speed of 26 km/h.

To retain a competitive edge, the SCIGRIP Solar Team cannot divulge too much technical information but they can reveal the modified SCIGRIP Solar Boat features a number of performance enhancing features.

These include light weight solar panels and a carbon fibre composite deck cored with PVC foam to reduce weight on board and increase speed. A specially mounted drive system has also been assembled to aid the boat’s stability in rough waters and improve steering control for the skipper.

SCIGRIP says adhesives have been used throughout the vessel to assemble significant sections of the structure. These include;

SG230: a two component, high viscosity methacrylate adhesive (MMA) which bonds the largest and most demanding regions such as the bulkheads and hull joints.

SG5000: also a high strength, two component MMA used to assemble the engine column and hull joints. It adheres to a variety of materials including plastics, metals and composites and demonstrates excellent environmental resistance, requires minimal surface preparation and delivers a very rapid cure.

SG600: bonds the front panels and deck joints. SG600’s powerful and effective combination of high tensile strength, high modulus and elongation make it ideal for application on a range of substrates including thermoplastic and thermoset composites.

SG100: a bright white and UV resistant product, which has been applied on visible joints such as the Solar Boat’s side floats and deck regions.

SCIGRIP claims this range offers excellent fatigue, impact and shock load resistance and requires very minimal surface preparation. Thanks to a non-sag formulation, it explains that SG100 is very easy to apply on uneven surfaces.

The SCIGRIP Solar Boat is currently on display at the Klif Shopping Centre in Gdynia, Poland, before being transported to Monte Carlo ready for the start of the race on the 9th July.